Indicating apparatus for engines.



W. S. RUSH.

INDICATING APPARATUS FOR ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 15. 1913.

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Patented Apr. 3,1917.

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WALTER s. RUSH, or new YORK, N. Y.

INDICATING APPARATUS FOR ENGINES.

Application filed March 15, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER S. .RUsI-I, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Indicating Apparatus for Engines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus for indicating the direction of movement, and also III--III of Fig. IV, illustrating a differentembodiment of the indicator mechanism from that shown in Fig. I.

Fig. IV is a bottom plan View of the apparatus indicated in Fig. III.

Fig. V is an elevation of an apparatus embodying my invention in which a different form of pump or pressure-creating devic from that shown in Fig. I is employed.

Fig. VI is a detail sectional view of the reversing and controlling valve shown in Fig. I. i i

Fig. VIII is a sectional view of an indicator of different form from those shown in the other views.

In the accompanying drawings A designates, as a whole, a motor, in this instance a marine steam engine-0f the reciprocating type, whose movements areto be indicated.

B designates a pump or pressure-producing apparatus, and C, theindicator apparatus, considered as a whole.

The latter is inclosed within a casing 2, Fig. V, preferably circular in outline, and is provided with a dial 3, which may bear words designating the movements of the engine, such, for instance, as AsternStop' Ahead, and across which moves the index arm or finger 4.

IVhere my invention is applied to an inclicator for marine engines and is located in the pilot house, the dial must be illuminated if the indicator is availed of during the Specification of Letters Patent.

with the other side. one or another variety, a rotary double pis- Patented Apr. 3, 1917.

Serial No. 754,642.

' night season. It is however, well known that a constant light, the direct rays from which can reach the eyes of the navigator, cannot be allowed in a pilot house, and I therefore, in order to permit the indicator to be in constant use and view, adopt the form of dial 3 'representedin Figs. III and IV. This consists of opal glass supported by pedestals 5 at a distance from the front face of the main framework or casting of the indicator sufficiently far to permit a lamp 6 to be located between it and the said casting, the glass plate being so formed as to cause the light from the lamp to be so diffused that the direct rays therefrom cannot reach the eye of the pilot, this being accomplished, for instance, by making the inner surface of the glass irregular or prismatic in formation, as indicated at 7, Figs. II and IV. I have found that by this device the indicator may be kept constantly illuminated within the pilot house, and, even though located in front of the navigator will not interfere with his vision.

The index is fixed upon a shaft 8 that is supported in pivot bearings 9 carried by the framework and is connected with the means which are employed to actuate it. These means are fluid-actuated, pressure-regulated devices; a pair of them being preferably employed, one being connected with one side of the pump apparatus B,.and the other The'pump may be of ton pump being indicated in Fig. V, and a reciprocating single piston pump in Fig. I. The general operation of the apparatus may be here briefly stated. The pump or pressure-creating device B is moved in synchronism with the engine A whose movements are to be indicated, and one side of the pump is connected, through piping 10,

vwith movable devices at the indicator C,

while the other side is connected, through piping 11, with other movable devices at the indicator, such movabledevices being connected with and operating the index 4. It will be understood that, when the apparatus is thus arranged, pressure above that of the atmosphere is applied at the indicator through one set of piping and pressure be low atmospheric through the other system of piping, and that the differences of pressure thus established are caused to efiect, through mechanism to be described, the movements of the index.

formed in any suitable manner, as by the outer walls of the casting and the partitions 15. Each of the pipes, 10, 11, is connected, through ducts 16, with one of the said closed chambers so that the pressure created by the pump, whether plus or minus, is transmitted to the chamber. The ducts preferably extend entirely through the casting and are open externally at each end for attachment of the piping 10, 11. The open ends of the ducts not being used are closed by plugs 42.

17 18 indicate cylinders communicating freely respectivelywith the chambers 12, 13, below the level to which the bodies of fluid in such chambers are ever reduced. In these cylinders are arranged pistons 19, and 20, preferably of the cupped leather type. The stems of the pistons are connected with a pivoted bar or walking beam 21 mounted on a shaft from which extends an arm 23 that is connected, by link 24, with an arm 25 projecting from the shaft 8 carrying the pointer or index 4.

Itwill be seen that whenever the pump B is in operation a pressure above the atmosphere will be built up within one of the chambers, say that at 12, and a pressure below the atmosphere will be caused within the other chamber, with the result that the body of liquid in the ehamber.12 will be forced therefrom into the cylinder 17, acting to lift the iston 19, and the liquid in the other chaml fer will be drawn from the cylinder 18, causing the piston 20 to descend. In the apparatus shown in Fig. III this is the condition whenever the engine is moving ahead and will result in turning the pointer 4 to the .right and toward the marking Ahead, thus indicating the direction in which the engine is turned, and, by the extent of its movement to the right, the speed of the engine.

The pump or pressure-creating device may be of any suitable character, so long as it opcrates to build up pressure in one part of the indicator mechanism and reduce it in another part, the difference in pressure in these two parts varying with the speed of the engine, and the chamber in which the increased pressure is established being determined by the direction of movement of the engine.

In Fig. I the chambers 12 and 13 are located in the upper part of the framework or casting, the partitions which serve to form them being designated 15', 15. In this embodiment vof the invention the cylinders 17, 18 are movable and connected with the index 4, and the pistons 19, 20 are stationary, being supported by hollow stems 26 seated in the partition 15. .Communieating between the chambers 12, 13' and the interior of the cylinders is through the hollow stems 26. Each cylinder is connected with an end of a pivoted bar or walking beam 27 mounted upon the shaft 8 that carries the index.

I prefer for some reasons the form of pump or pressure-producing device B, illustrated in Fig. I. It consists of a cylinder 28 in which reciprocates a single solid piston 29 driven through suitable connecting mechanism 30 by the engine A. The piston is provided with packing, which should be of such nature as to permit of some leakage, in order that when the piston comes to rest pressure upon opposite sides thereof may become equalized, due to a passage of air by the piston. A cup-packing for the piston 29, such as represented in Fig. I, is well adapted for the uses described, as it en gages the cylinder sufficiently tight to act effectively for increasing the pressure on one side of the indicator system and reducing it on the other side, and yet permits of sufficient leakage to equalize the pressures on the two sides when the pump comes to rest. A pipe 31 is connected with one end of the cylinder of the pump and another pipe 32 with the other end, and these two lead to a four-way switch valve 33, with which the pipes 10 and 11 also connect. The movable element of this valve is connected by suitable mechanism 34 with the reversing mechanism 35 of the engine A. Thus whenever the direction of movement of the engine is reversed the valve 33 is shifted so as to reverse the connections between the pipes 31, 32 and 10, 11. 38 is a port or opening to the outside air, communicating with one end of the cylinder 28,the lower end, as shown in the drawing,and controlled by an inwardly acting check valve 39; and 36 designates a port or opening to the outside air, at the other end of the cylinder, controlled by an outwardly opening check valve 37. It will be seen that when the piston of the pump B, Fig. I, is reciprocated there will be established on one side of the system a condition where the pressure is greater than that of the atmosphere, and on the other side of the piston a condition with the pressure below that of the atmosphere, and that the valve-controlled openings 36 and 38 operate to maintain the desired pressure conditions should they for any reason he interfered with, as by reason of leakage 1 the direction of the pump piston. however, does not take place unless the engine, andhence the pump, be moving very slowly, because the pressure throughout the system does not have time to equalize during the time between strokes of the pump, and hence there is built up a plus pressure in one chamber and a minus pressure in the other which moves the index to indicate the direction of movement of the engine. There is however at each reciprocation of the pump some change in the variation between the pressures in the two chambers, and this causes a slight vibration of the index at each reciprocation, thus aiiording a ready means for indicating the number of revolutions being made by the engine.

It will be understood that means are provided which tend to restore the parts of the indicator to a mid-position, which they assume when the apparatus is at rest. For this purpose I have represented a spring as connected with the shaft 8 that carries the index.

Openings are formed through the outer walls of the main framework or casting in order to permit the chambers 12 and 13 to be filled, and closing plugs 4E0, 411 are employed to close these openings under normal working conditions. By maintaining a body of oil or other lubricating fluid in the closed chambers of the indicator I insure the pistons shall always be lubricated, thus reducing friction to the minimum and guarding against leakage of air and hence loss of pressure in the system. If under any circumstances the body of liquid should be so great that when expelled from thecylinder and forced into the chamber, it reaches the level of the opening into the duct 16, no harm will result, as the liquid will flow out into the pipe system.

In Fig. VII I have illustrated an indicator which, while embodying some of the features already described, has an index device quite different from that shown in the other views. Referring to this view it will be seen that the casting or main framework of the indicator has the two closed chambers, 12,

13, containing bodies of liquid, 14, located in its upper part, as in the form of apparatus shown in Fig. I. lVith these chambers there communicate respectively two glass tubes, 14, of U-shape, closed at their outer ends. their oaflosite ends bein o)en and seated, liquid-tight, in the partition 15. In those legs of the tubes having the closed ends, bodies of air or other gaseous fluid are trapped by the liquids that enter the tubes from the chambers 12 and 13. The legs of the tubes containing the trapped bodies of air are located opposite sight openings, t5, formed in the main casting. The two bodies of liquid which enter the tubes 44: are preferably colored differently, as one red and the This,

other green, to assist in observing the indicator. If desired a float 46 may be placed upon the surface of each body of liquid within a tube. It will be understood that whenever an indicator such as that just described is connected with the other parts of the apparatus, the air pressure produced within the chambers 12 and 13, by the pump 13, acting upon the surfaces of the bodies of liquids, will cause the liquid to rise in one tube and to simultaneously fall in the other tube, the trapped bodies of air in the tubes insuring this action, and that by observing, through the openings 45, the positions of the columns of liquid in the tubes, the direction and speed of the engine may be determined.

It will be observed that I have provided the indicating means with duplicate operating means which are arranged to co-act, each system adding its efficiency to that of the other. This insures a quick response of the indicator to changes in the movements of the engine, and also provides for working the apparatus should one set of'devices become, for any cause, inoperative. It will be readily understood from a consideration of the construction of the pump or pressureproducing device B, represented in Fig. I, that while it will build up a pressure on one side of the system and correspondingly reduce the pressure on the other side, it will do this only to a degree corresponding with the speed at which the pump is operated, and

that the arrangement of check valves insures the maintaining of the pressures to correspond with the speed of the pump even though there should be slight leakage in the system. The pump represented in Fig. V, which is of the rotary, double geared type of pump, will build up pressure to a degree corresponding to the speed of the pump, and there maintain it. With a pump of this kind which can be run in either direction, a reversing valve like that at 33 in the piping system connecting the pump and indicator, becomes unnecessary.

The duplication of the mechanism employed to actuate the index and the connections between such mechanisms and pump, not only increases the efficiency of the system as already described, but also provides checks against the system becoming inoperative through accident, either to an index operating mechanism or to apressure-connecting system, because, as is apparent, should one of such mechanisms or one of such connecting systems become inoperative from any cause, the parts remaining in working condition will nevertheless operate the indicator and show the Working of the engine.

What I claim is 1. In an engine-indicating apparatus, the combination of a pump operated in synchronism with the engine, a closed receiver connecting with the pump whereby the latter may build up pressure as the speed of the engine increases, an index for showing the movements of the engine, and means operated by said pressure for moving the index in extent according as the pressure is greater or less.

2. In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination with the engine, of a pump operated in synchronism with the engine, a closed receiver connected with thepump whereby the latter may build up pressure as the speed of the engine increases, devices for indicating the movements of the engine, and means operated by the said pressure for moving the indicating devices in extent according as the pressure is greater or less.

3. In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination of an index, a framework containing a closed chamber, a body of liquid in such chamber, a cylinder and piston communicating with the said chamber so that the body of liquid therein acts upon the piston, connecting means between the movable element of the piston and cylinder and the index, a pump moving in synchronism with the movements of the engine, and fluid connections between the pump and the'said closed chamber.

4. In a device for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination with the engine, of an index for showing both the speed and the direction of movement of the engine, a pump operated in synchronism with the engine and connections between the pump and index through which the former acts upon the latter, including a switch valve for changing the relations of theconnections whereby the pump is arranged to move the index in one direction when the engine is turning forward and in another direction when it is reversing, and also to give to the said index additional supplemental movements to indicate the speed of the engine.

5. In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination with the engine, of an index for showing both the speed and direction of movement of the engine, a pump operated in synchronism with the engine, closed receivers con nected with the pump whereby the latter may build up therein respectively plus and minus pressures, fluid-controlled means including bodies of liquid operated by the said pressures and connected with the index, and arranged to move the latter in one direction when the engine turns forward and in another direction when it is reversed, and fluid connections between the pump and the said. closed receivers, including a switch valve permitting the plus and minus pressure-producing parts of the pump to be put alternately into communication respectively with the said closed receivers, accordingly as the valve is adjusted.

6. In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination of a pump arranged to move in synchronism with .the engine whose movements are to be indicated,-an index, a pair of fluid-controlled devices for moving the index, and connections between the pressure side of the pump and one of the said index-controlling devices, and other connections between the suction side of the pump and the other of the said index-controlling devices whereby plus pressure is developed at one of the said devices and minus pressure at the other.

7. In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination with the engine, of a pump moving in synchronism with the engine, an index, a pair of cylinders and pistons, the movable elements of which are connected with the index, and two sets of fluid connections between the pump and the said cylinders, one set leading from the pressure side of the pump and the other from the suction side thereof, whereby plus pressure is developed in one cylinder and minus pressure in the other and whereby the pistons in the said cylinders are acted upon simultaneously by fluid moved by the pump, but at different pressures.

8. In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination of an index, a framework containing a pair of closed chambers in which are located bodies of fluid, a pair of cylinders and pistons communicating with the said chambers so that the body of fluid in each chamber acts upon the piston in the communicating cylinder, connecting means between the movable element of each piston and cylinder and the index, a pump moving in synchronism with the movements of the engine, and two sets of fluid connections between the pump and the said closed chambers, one set leading from the pressure side of the pump and the other from the suction side thereof whereby plus pressure is developed in one chamber and minus pressure in the other.

9. In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination of an index, a framework containing a pair of closed chambers in which are bodies of elastic fluid, a body of liquid also in each chamber, a pair of cylinders and pistons communicating with the said chambers so that the body of liquid in each chamber acts upon the piston in the communicating cylinder, connecting means between the movable element of each piston and cylinder and the index, a pump moving in synchronism with the movements of the engine, and two sets of fluid connections between the pump and the said closed chambers, one set leading from the pressure side of the pump and the other from the suction side thereof whereby plus pressure is developed in one of said chambers and minus pressure in the other.

10; In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination of an index, a pair of fluid-controlled devices for moving the index, a reciprocating solid piston pump arranged to move in synchronism with the engine, the pump having on one side of the piston a port communicating with the atmosphere and controlled by an inwardly acting check valve and at the other end another port communicating with the atmosphere and controlled by an outwardly acting check valve, and fluid connections leading from the opposite ends of the pump respectively to the said fluid-controlled devices that move the index.

11. In an apparatus for indicating the movements of an engine, the combination of anindex, a pair of fluid-controlled devices for moving the index, a reciprocating solid piston pump arranged to move in synchronism with the engine, the pump having 011 one side of the piston a port communicating with the atmosphere and controlled by an inwardly acting check valve and at the other end another port communicating with the atmosphere and controlled by an outwardly acting check valve, fluid connections leading from the opposite ends of the pump respectively to the said fluid-controlled devices that move the index, and a valve device in the said fluid connections for shifting the communication between the respective index-controlling devices when the direction of movement of the engine is changed.

WALTER S. RUSH.

Witnesses:

, JOHN S. BARKER, GEO. B. Pirrs.

Women of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

